Breaking the Wall of Nature and Nurture

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What determines human behavior? In this video of his 2010 Falling Walls Conference lecture, Dalton Conley would say nature and nurture both play a role. This "academic superstar" (The Guardian) and the first sociologist recipient of the National Science Foundation's Alan T. Waterman Award is breaking down the traditional divide between these two concepts. Conley offers a unique and groundbreaking understanding of social and genetic contexts as determinants of human behavior and reactions. Having developed the "fascinating" (Time) concept of intravidualism, he provides a critical insight into how our genes and those of our family and peers interact with our social experiences. Demonstrating how genes and environment combine to affect our life course, Conley's research presents a model for designing better-functioning organizations, ranging from classrooms to boardrooms, as well as better psychiatric treatments.